Pope Leo XIV ordered the purification of the high altar at Saint Peter’s Basilica after an unidentified man was caught urinating on the Altar of Confession above Saint Peter’s tomb during Mass on Friday, Oct. 10. The Vatican gendarmes intervened immediately and took him away. 

The incident occurred in full view of a large crowd, with footage circulating widely online. He was promptly taken into custody by plainclothes police officers present in the basilica and escorted out of the church. According to reports from the week of October 14, the man remained in custody.

The site where the Pope typically performs Catholic Mass was temporarily closed to the public on Monday. Prayers and psalms were said as holy water was showered on the altar. Under the Code of Canon Law (Canon 1211), serious acts committed in a sacred place that cause scandal to the faithful are considered violations of the site’s holiness. When this occurs, public worship is suspended until a penitential rite is performed to restore the church’s sanctity.

This is not the first time such an incident has happened. As per the Catholic News Agency, a man desecrated the altar by climbing on top of it and throwing six candelabras that were on the altar to the ground in February.

In another incident in June 2023, a Polish man approached the high altar undressed and climbed onto the altar, with the words “Save children of Ukraine” written on his back. The incident had happened when the basilica was about to close.